The santa cruz metropolitan transit district (metro) will pool funding from its FFY22 and FFY23 section 5339(a) formula allocations along with an FFY23 section 5339(b) bus and bus facilities…

The Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District (METRO) was awarded a $24,072,000 project grant from the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, and Low or No Emissions Programs (CFDA 20.526) to replace 12 aging diesel and CNG buses with 8 sixty-foot and 4 forty-foot hydrogen fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs). The grant will also fund the construction of a mobile hydrogen fueling station and facility upgrades to accommodate the new FCEB fleet. This project is a vital part of METRO's plan to convert 100% of its fleet serving Watsonville's disadvantaged communities to zero-emission buses by 2027 and meet California's clean energy mandates. The funding is expected to reduce METRO's annual energy consumption by 6,567 gigajoules, cut carbon emissions by 1,292 metric tons, and lower particulate matter emissions by 112,858 grams, resulting in a social cost savings of $177,200 per year.

Activities

Metro was awarded $20381950 to replace four (4) 2002 diesel-fueled 60-foot buses four (4) 1998 diesel-fueled 40-foot buses and four (4) 2003 CNG 40-foot buses with eight (8) 60-foot and four (4) 40-foot fcebs. Funding will also support the construction of a mobile hydrogen fueling station providing facility upgrades to accommodate the new buses as well as maintenance training and workforce development. The project is a vital piece of metros plan to convert 100% of its fleet serving watsonville hdcs to zebs by 2027 and meet the state of californias clean energy mandates.

Expected outcomes

This project will allow metro to remove 4 1998 diesel buses 4 2002 articulated diesel buses and 4 2003 CNG buses from service and deploy fcebs in their place. The 12 buses operate for approximately 384000 miles annually combined and consume approximately 82615 gallons of diesel fuel and 40000 diesel gallons equivalent (DGE) of CNG each year. Deploying fcebs in place of fossil fuel vehicles will reduce energy consumption and harmful emissions including greenhouse gases and particulates.reduce energy consumption: the zebs that metro is proposing to put into service consume less energy per mile than buses that use other common propulsion technologies such as gasoline diesel and natural gas engines. Even when considering well-to-wheel energy requirements hydrogen fuel cell buses are a more efficient transit solution than these other vehicle technologies. Operating hydrogen fuel cell buses instead of comparable modern fossil fuel buses (model year 2023 diesel and CNG bus) will reduce the amount of energy that metro uses each year by 6567 gigajoules (GJ). That energy is equivalent to 108 years worth of gas for the average american car driver every year.reduce harmful emissions: removing them from service would reduce tailpipe carbon emissions by 1292 metric tons annually and tailpipe particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions of 112858 g (grams) which has a considerable health impact on the local community. This reduction of direct carbon and harmful emissions results in a social cost savings of $177200 annually calculated in accordance with executive order 13990.reduce direct carbon emissions: when comparing modern diesel buses of the same length as metros current buses to fcebs direct carbon emissions would decrease by 614 metric tons annually. In addition compared to fossil fuel buses fcebs will reduce production of harmful emissions including particulate matter under 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) by 1409 g annually. This reduction in direct carbon and harmful emissions results in a social cost savings of $227258 annually in accordance with executive order 13990.in addition the proposed project will expand transit service by doubling the number of articulated bus serving ucsc routes. The number of seats on each of the replaced buses will increase approximately 50% in total capacity and this capacity expansion is expected to increase ridership. Increased ridership will reduce VMT and derived GHG emissions from displaced private vehicle trips while serving this primarily low-income population. Quick refueling means buses have less downtime and higher utilization. Metro can install hydrogen refueling infrastructure on the existing diesel refueling footprint. Fcebs offer a one-to-one replacement for diesel and CNG buses with no compromise in service. Key attributes of fcebs include: range of up to 300 miles between refueling; can be refueled in less than 10 minutes; compact depot gas refueling eliminating the need for roadside charging infrastructure and proven durability with fuel cell lifetime of more than 30000 hours. The project will reduce 614 metric tons of GHG annually by helping convert 13% of metros CNG and diesel fleet to zero-emission fceb by 2027 and construct a hydrogen fueling station that will support the transition of 100% of metros fleet to zero-emission technology by 2037 with enough capacity to support the zero-emission fueling needs of local partner agencies and over-the-fence customers.

Intended beneficiaries

The proposed project has an explicit goal of enabling metro to convert 100% of its fleet serving watsonvilles hdcs to zebs by 2027. The construction of a permanent hydrogen fueling station and replacement of 12 diesel-fueled and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses that have reached the end of their useful life with four 40-foot and eight 60-foot hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses (fcebs) will enable metro to advance its commitment to deploying zebs in hdcs that the district initiated in 2019 with the procurement of metros first four battery electric buses (bebs) which began service in 2021 on a new watsonville zero-emission circulator route. Furthermore deploying higher capacity articulated fcebs on routes serving ucsc will help resolve overcrowding pass-BYS and stranded passengers. The investment will help transform transit in the monterey BAY area eliminating 15504 metric tons of CO2 emissions over the useful life of the project and increasing equity by providing clean transit services to multiple hdcs creating good-paying jobs and increasing transportation options for low-income and minority communities.